Ro-Ro Ramp

Eastern Car Liner Ltd., Tokyo, and Rickmers-Linie, the Hamburg based breakbulk, heavylift and project cargo specialist, have concluded a deal concerning the transpacific westbound trade. ECL, which provides a monthly liner service from Japan to the U.S. East Coast, will deliver its multipurpose vessels after the end of each eastbound voyage to Rickmers-Linie, which will then charter the ships for transpacific westbound voyages and redeliver them to Japan. The cooperation will start from January 2006 and is set for a period of two years.
The four 11,000dwt vessels, which are involved in this cooperation, come with heavylift gear capable of lifting loads of up to 120 tons. They were built between 1995 and 1998 and are equipped with ro-ro ramps. Regular loading ports within Rickmers-Linie' westbound service will be Philadelphia, Charleston and Houston, with discharge ports Busan, Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai and Yokohama.
With this deal, both ECL and Rickmers-Linie are optimizing their operations within their transpacific services. For Rickmers-Linie, these trip-chartered vessels will be the backbone of an enhanced westbound service, where additional tonnage will be chartered subject to demand. ECL, in turn, secures a scheduled re-delivery of these vessels for its eastbound service from Japan to the U.S.

The maiden call of the Parsifal, the latest vessel of the Scandinavian shipowner’s fleet specialised in roll-on/roll-off traffic, took place on June 15th, at the ro-ro terminal of Le Havre.
This giant of the seas, 265 m long, carries all types of vehicles, whatever the size and the weight, providing an unequalled capacity on this kind of vessels.
The Parsifal was designed to offer a maximum of flexible areas suited for the transport of high and heavy cargo (H&H’s)

A sector-specific Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ro-ro cargo & ro-pax vessels has been agreed by the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee – MEPC 65.
Formal approval was confirmed late on Friday (May 17) for an Interferry-backed modification that will take effect from 2016 as an alternative to the ‘one-size-fits-all’ standard EEDI formula in force since January this year for tankers, bulk carriers and container ships.

The contract for the design of a 1,200 passenger vessel was signed between Sener and Posco Plantec (part of the South Korean group POSCO Family) in Madrid on June 13, 2013. The vessel is to be build and designed for the following operational areas: Northern Mozambique, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanga and Mombasa.
The scope of the project to be developed by Sener includes conceptual and classification engineering and the 3D model to extract the production information

While the Chinese automotive sector is experiencing double-digit growth, Chinese finished vehicle exporters are facing stiff competition and ongoing logistics challenges in getting their products to foreign markets because of a lack of RoRo ships, according to a report on http://www.cargonewsasia.com.
Zhang Xiaoyu, vice-chairman of the China Machinery Industry Federation said that while the number of China's vehicle exports has increased sharply

WESMAR announced that another ferry, the MV Norcon Galatea, has installed WESMAR’s commercial bow thrusters. The 387-ton, 125-foot Ro-Ro Passenger Ferry, owned by Norcon Marine Services, Clarenville, Newfoundland, provides support for the provincial ferry fleet serving Bell Island and Portugal Cove, Newfoundland. The Galatea has capacity for 70 passengers and 20 cars.
The 40-year-old Ferry was previously the MV Hamilton Sound and owned by the Provincial Government

Ro-Clean Desmi has introduced a new disc skimmer for the recovery of floating oils - Ro-Disc, a high efficient skimmer for inland waters and industrial process applications such as separators and tanks.
Ro-Disc has a single bank of rotating oleophilic (oil attracting) discs driven by a hydraulic motor. Oil is recovered from the water's surface as it sticks to the disc surface. As the discs are rotated through the skimmer, head oil is scraped off and collected in the sump on an ongoing basis.

Maritime Transport & Logistics Advisors, LLC (MTLA) an industry consulting firm based in Ft.
Lauderdale, FL has been engaged by Roadships America, Inc. to provide research and analysis of the U.S. Coastal Transport market, as well as assistance with operational considerations in the final design stages of Roadships’ new generation high speed Ro/Ro vessels. Roadships America, Inc., a Reno, NV company is owned by U.S. and foreign investors.

OT Africa Line (OTAL) has announced a number of developments to its West African Ro-Ro and container services designed to give customers access to a greater number of ports. The changes will also provide improved transit times and more frequent sailings to ensure even more extensive transport coverage of the trade to and from this region.
OTAL continues to operate its established multipurpose Ro-Ro service but with the addition of a restructured improved all-round schedule called the

Slovenia's Luka Koper port welcomed its largest container ship to date, as the 367 metre Gerda Maersk moored on Tuesday, just weeks after completing a long-awaited deepening of its seabed to allow larger ships to dock.
The Gerda Maersk weighing 10

Wärtsilä exhaust scrubber systems to achieve emissions compliance for two Stena Line ferries
Two Ro-Ro vessels owned and operated by Stena Line are to be retrofitted with Wärtsilä in-line closed-loop scrubber systems

Bureau Veritas (BV) is to class two projects for gas-fuelled vessels to be built for Canadian owners in Turkish shipyards.
British Columbia-based Seaspan Ferries has chosen BV class for two hybrid LNG/diesel/battery-powered ro-ro cargo ferries which will be built at the Sedef yard in

Two Ro-Ro vessels owned and operated by Stena Line, the Sweden based transport and ferry company, are to be retrofitted with Wärtsilä in-line closed-loop scrubber systems. The scrubbers will be installed on the 'Stena Transit' and 'Stena Transporter' ferries operating between

Korean Register (KR), an IACS member classification society, has been fully authorized by the Marine Safety and Security Division of Transport Canada to perform statutory services on behalf of the government of Canada.
KR is now able to conduct relevant surveys

A silver Hyundai Genesis rolling down the ramp of the Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessel Isolde became the 5 millionth vehicle handled by International Auto Processing at the Port of Brunswick.
“On behalf of the GPA, I would like to congratulate IAP

The port of Antwerp handled 199,012,082 tonnes of freight in 2014, a rise of 4.3% compared with the previous year. The new record that was already announced at the end of December is put into sharper focus by these figures. The record growth has been driven by the volume of containers (up 5

Recent updates to the US Vessel General Permit (VGP) have brought new technical and reporting requirements for vessels operating in US waters, including the need for the preparation of a detailed annual report. DNV GL’s newly introduced VGP verification service helps to ensure compliance by

Passenger vessel safety isn’t just a third world problem. It’s a worthy challenge to take up in 2015 and at the same time, a completely sobering way to ring in the New Year.
As the clock ticks down on yet another year, I couldn’t help but take note of the new cruise ship

STX France SA has awarded a contract to MacGregor for the delivery of cargo and passenger access equipment for two cruise ships.
MacGregor said its turnkey delivery includes the design, production, delivery, installation and commissioning of tailor-made systems that include MacGregor doors

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s liner services group will add a 400 FEU capacity, flat deck barge to its South Atlantic Puerto Rico service in the first quarter, increasing the rotation between Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan to four sailings each week

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has received a contract from STX France SA to deliver cargo and passenger access equipment for two cruise ships. The order was booked into fourth quarter 2014 order intake.
MacGregor's 'turnkey' delivery includes the design, production, delivery

The first Ro-Pax cruiser designed and built in China for the Chinese market has entered into service on January 1, 2015.
The ship, named San sha No. 1, can carry wheeled cargo, containers, trailers as well as passengers, and was delivered to China's southernmost city Sansha in Hainan